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Chapter 78: Choosing the Universe
The Primarchs, forged from the essence of two worlds and tempered by the Emperor's artifice, had transcended mortal comprehension in their might.
Gene Engines pulsed within their transhuman frames like captured stars, granting abilities that bent reality to their will. Even against the gods of distant realms, they felt certainty burn within their hearts.
Konrad Curze tilted his pale features toward his gene-sire, shadows writhing across his midnight-clad form.
"Father, Lord Raven, I find myself curious. What manner of existence would dare stand as our adversary?"
The other Primarchs nodded, voicing agreement, their enhanced voices carrying absolute confidence.
They were apex predators now, beings of such terrible majesty that reality itself seemed to bend before their presence.
If some pretender deity dared manifest before them, they would test their blades against divine flesh without hesitation.
Raven's obsidian features twisted into that familiar expression of dark amusement.
"I harbour sincere hope that after you witness what the Master of Mankind and I shall unveil, you will retain even a fragment of your current pride."
Roboute Guilliman stepped forward. "Lord Raven, what manner of truth do you and our Father intend to share?"
His analytical mind parsed the implications hidden within those cryptic words.
"Let that remain a mystery for now. You must uncover these answers through your own endeavours." Raven rustled his dark wings with barely contained anticipation.
He had no intention of spoiling the surprise.
"Proceed to familiarise yourselves with your Gene Engines," the Emperor commanded, His golden radiance pulsing with paternal authority. "Should you feel compelled to test your newfound might, conduct such trials in the void."
With their Gene Engines integrated into their beings, dismantling the very foundations of the Emperor's Ship 'Grand Design' would be accomplished with casual ease.
Upon hearing their father's directive, the Primarchs withdrew from the laboratory. No sooner had Leman Russ reached the corridor's threshold than battle-hunger blazed in his wolfish eyes.
"Which among you would dare test steel against the Wolf King?"
"I shall serve as your opponent, brother." Angron emerged from the shadows, his features alight with savage anticipation.
The World Eater's transhuman heart thundered with the need to measure his strength against worthy opposition.
"Then let us begin."
With a thought, Russ activated his spatial manipulation abilities. Reality folded upon itself as he transported both himself and Angron into the star-drunk void beyond their battle-barge's adamantine hull.
Angron struck first, seizing a massive asteroid and hurling it toward his brother with the force of colliding worlds.
The Wolf King's laughter echoed across the vacuum as he unleashed a thunderous battle-howl. Russ raised his hands, his Gene Engine singing as spatial cutting fields shimmered into existence. The asteroid separated with clean lines, its bisected halves tumbling through cosmic dark.
What followed was a symphony of violence that would have humbled gods. The two Primarchs clashed with devastating fury, their enhanced forms moving so fast that even the finest Astartes would struggle to see even their shadows.
Each blow carried the force to shatter continents, unleashing energies that reduced the surrounding debris field to component atoms. The battle raged with such intensity that the battle-barge's augur arrays struggled to track their movements.
Imperial crew members gathered at observation galleries, their voices raised in awed reverence as they witnessed the destruction of their gene-sires' might.
After the Primarchs departed for their trials, the crimson-robed servants of the Omnissiah filed from the laboratory with mechanical precision.
In the end, only three figures remained: the Master of Mankind in His golden majesty, the enigmatic Raven with wings of shadow, and faithful Malcador.
"What progress have you achieved regarding our potential destinations?" The Emperor's voice carried infinite authority as His luminous gaze settled upon His dark-winged ally.
"I have identified several promising candidates. Which among them captures your interest?"
Through careful deliberation, Raven had narrowed their options to the most suitable battlegrounds.
With a sweep of his obsidian wings, clusters of light materialised in the laboratory's air, each containing compressed data streams.
Taoist Universe
Saint Ruins Universe
Divine and Eerie Universe
Marvel Universe
SCP Foundation Universe
Cthulhu Universe
Xiling Universe
No Game No Life Universe
Tiriel Universe
The luminous spheres orbited through the chamber like captured stars, each pulsing with the weight of entire realities.
"The Taoist realm?" The Emperor extended His radiant hand, and the first data-cluster flew to His grasp.
The sphere dissolved into mist that merged with His consciousness, transforming into pure understanding.
Within moments, the Emperor grasped the true nature of the Taoist Universe, a realm that had descended into absolute chaos and lacked any genuine intellect beyond competition.
External pollutants had corrupted the great cosmic consciousness governing that reality. The entire universal framework had become a writhing mass of frenzy and chaos, where impossible contradictions existed in defiance of natural law.
Every world within that tortured realm was a monument to despair and endless suffering. The divine beings who dwelt there had been twisted into abominations whose very forms defied description.
"It possesses sufficient insanity to serve our purposes," the Emperor acknowledged with grim satisfaction.
Should they choose this destination, His sons would learn the meaning of terror. They would discover that not every universe bowed to the comforting laws of physics and rational thought.
Rather than rush to judgment, He continued His examination.
The Saint Ruins Universe operated under physical constants that diverged significantly from the framework of the Taoist realm.
While the Taoist reality encompassed extraordinary phenomena, it had not entirely abandoned the boundaries between the possible and the impossible.
The Saint Ruins Universe, however, represented a complete merger of reality and paradox. The beings dwelling within could achieve power that transcended mundane limitations with disturbing ease.
The worlds themselves had grown beyond standard cosmic scales. Entire continents the size of galactic clusters drifted through the void in displays of impossible magnificence.
In the Saint Ruins reality, an extraterrestrial entity of supposed immortality had somehow perished.
The ash of its death had created contamination beyond comprehension, a bizarre plateau that served as an altar to cosmic horror.
Certain beings had discovered this accursed location and drawn power from the remains of the fallen god.
These greedy plateau dwellers conducted universe-spanning blood sacrifices at regular intervals, offering endless flesh and souls to their ashen deity.
The Emperor's analysis continued to the next candidate.
The Divine and Eerie Universe represented the quintessential reality of pollution. The concept of eeriness had become fundamental to universal law, and even the great cosmic consciousness had transformed into an eerie object of unspeakable nature.
The surviving civilisations could only endure by exploiting the unique characteristics of various eerie phenomena, walking a razor's edge between utilisation and consumption.
"These universes all possess significant merit, yet they offer nothing but despair," the Emperor rendered His assessment with measured consideration.
The first three realities were terrifying beyond mortal comprehension. Each was a tableau of blood-soaked rivers and cruel indulgence, where human beings could not escape their endless torment. They could only struggle without hope and sink deeper into darkness.
This occurred because the rulers of these universes were not conventional adversaries, not some mad regime destined for collapse, but immortal and indestructible entities of pure malevolence.
The pain and despair of countless beings had given birth to these eternal, nightmarish existences.
If the Primarchs venture into such realms at their current stage, they would likely be broken to the point of questioning their very existence.
"What you desire, I guarantee they shall learn. There always exists someone of greater power," Raven proclaimed with unmistakable pride.
The Emperor's features showed a trace of paternal concern. "After reviewing these three universes, I fear that should they venture there, they will be beaten into such despair that they lose all confidence in confronting truly powerful enemies."
Raven's dark head lowered, disappointment flickering across his obsidian features.
"Very well then. Select from the remaining candidates. These also fulfil the requirements you specified."
The Emperor nodded and continued His deliberation.
"The Foundation Universe presents humans dwelling in adequate despair and ignorance, while the adversaries possess sufficient strength to provide our sons with the necessary education. It qualifies as a candidate."
"The Xiling Universe offers exceptional value. Its apex civilisations have mastered inter-universal travel technology. Venturing to this reality would not only educate the Primarchs but also provide us with the means to acquire such capabilities ourselves."
"The Cthulhu Universe seems to be an extension of much wider cosmic horror, even more hopeless than our own. It would allow our sons to experience the terror of the Outer Gods firsthand and comprehend the fundamental absurdity of existence itself."
"The Marvel Universe represents a unique synthesis of technology and paradox, containing various advanced technologies and individuals of remarkable power."
The Emperor's luminous gaze swept across the remaining data-clusters, each promising trials that would forge His sons into beings capable of facing the infinite darkness beyond the stars.
The choice would determine not merely their next destination, but the crucible in which the Primarchs would be tested, tempered, and transformed into the weapons humanity would need for the wars yet to come.
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